Biotech Foods

Biotechnology is often associated with promise… promise to feed the world, promise to reduce environmental harm, promise to expand
agricultural markets and production possibilities, promise to create products that consumers want.

Farmers in the United States seem to be sold on these promises. Farmers have rapidly adopted them because of their ability to survive herbicides
and/or pests. Adoption rates of biotech commodities that are used for nonfood purposes—animal feed and textiles, for example—have also increased rapidly.

Seed development, chemical, and pharmaceutical firms seem to be sold, too. Anticipating significant returns from both agricultural and
pharmaceutical biotechnology, these firms acquired small biotech
start-up firms (and their biotech patents) in the 1990s and transformed
themselves into large "life science" companies. While some
pharmaceutical firms have since divested their agricultural holdings
after failing to realize adequate returns on their investments, large
agricultural biotechnology companies—like Monsanto—have maintained
agribiotech research and development programs, partly because of
expected greater returns on second- and third-generation biotechnology.

I am hoping my concerns have germinated from agro-ignorance, because one thing I have learned in over 10 years of studying the future, is that Nature will need help feeding a growing population.

Are American consumers sold?

Unlike their European counterparts, American consumers have, so far,
not been vocal about their opinions on biotech food, though they have
been eating them. Biotech grains, in the form of cornmeal, oils, and
sugars, are used as ingredients in many foods that Americans consume,
such as corn chips. Because these foods are deemed substantially
equivalent to their nonbiotech counterparts, they are not labeled as
"biotech." As such, consumers are largely unaware they are eating
products derived from biotechnology. But that may change when the new
generation of products in the pipeline actually hits grocery stores.
These new products may be substantially different from their nonbiotech
counterparts or, in some cases, completely new. When consumers are made
aware that these products are biotech, how will they react? As the
largest market for U.S. producers, American consumers will render the
ultimate verdict on the future of agricultural biotechnology in the
United States.

Consumer attitudes can be influenced by the regulatory environment,
which includes labeling policies. In the United States, biotech foods
that are substantially equivalent to their conventional counterparts in
terms of composition, nutritional attributes, allergens, and other
characteristics do not need to be labeled as "biotech." So far, none of
the biotech foods in the U.S. market has required labeling.

In other parts of the world—including the European Union and
Japan—labeling of foods with biotech content is mandatory, even without
scientific evidence of specific health risks to consumers. Mandatory
labeling policies in foreign markets, while intended to satisfy
consumers' "right to know," may tend to accentuate concerns about
product safety. U.S. policies, in contrast, have helped to foster the
passive acceptance of biotech products (for example, soybean oil derived
from biotech soybeans) by domestic consumers and food manufacturers.
Will U.S. Consumers Accept New Biotech Foods?

It's hard to say. We know consumers want and expect variety.
Agricultural biotechnology can be a tremendous source of variety—both in
terms of choices of production techniques for farmers in developed and
developing countries and in terms of new and different products for
consumers. Further, biotechnology may provide food quality enhancements
not previously available (nonallergenistic peanuts or other foods, for
example) that consumers may greatly desire.

We also know that consumers are influenced by various types and sources
of information and make choices based on the information they receive,
as well as on their own needs and preferences. Consumers who are anxious
about biotechnology but who also want previously unavailable food
characteristics will face new tradeoffs among food choices.

GMO Food Articles

Since 2005, I've searched the internet for new articles from around the world that interest me, or I think will interest you. GMOs are a controversial subject, I post articles from both sides of the scientific debate to help you decide where you stand on the issue. - Jack

References

FFA Newsletter

Welcome! FutureforAll.org is my personal web site about future technology and its affect on society. My hope is that this site will increase public awareness of rapidly advancing technologies and the social responsibility to make them available to all.